Be sure to include your name, daytime phone number, address, name and phone number of legal next-of-kin, method of payment, and the name of the funeral home/crematory to contact for verification of death.

“I think they do,” he said. “I can’t say 100 percent, because you’re not dealing with an exact science — you’re dealing with people — but they do.”

The clash of styles, therefore, resonates this week as loudly as the Macklemore soundtrack that the Seattle Seahawks have been practicing to.

Seattle coach Pete Carroll is 62 years old, seemingly refusing to turn 40. His Seahawks are like a brood of unruly teenagers, rocking to his beat.

It’s a beat unlike any other NFL coach — a modern beat, somebody said to Carroll this week, though he didn’t seem comfortable with the word.

“I don’t know if it’s ‘modern,’ ” he said. “It’s just the only way I know how to do it. I understand that the guys do respond pretty favorably. They like what’s going on.

“We’ve created a culture that hopefully allows for guys to be at their best. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

He’s a “cool coach,” in other words — as in the “cool mom” that Hollywood likes to depict. It’s the mom with loose boundaries and few rules.

That’s the Carroll that I see. Those are the Seahawks, who led the NFL this season not only in total defense but also in pass interference and defensive holding penalties.

The Denver Broncos, on the other hand, seem to be a team of mature and measured restraint. Fox will turn 59 next week and, like a tenured professor, his age and experience show.

“We’re a team that’s not going to do too much talking,” Broncos veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said. “We’re a team that’s going to show the hard work on the field.

“That’s the kind of guy coach Fox is. He’s not a guy that’s going to do a lot of talking — rah-rah and get you fired up. But when he speaks, he speaks volumes.”

When Fox collapsed and underwent an open-heart valve procedure during the season, the Broncos carried on. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio left Fox’s chair open in the coaches’ meeting room. The team kept the same daily schedule. His locker remained untouched.

When Fox came back after four weeks — the Broncos went 3-1 during his absence, losing only to New England in overtime — “He was the same Coach Fox we knew. It was like he didn’t miss a beat,” running back Knowshon Moreno said.

Five other coaches have taken two different teams to a Super Bowl. Don Shula leads the list, followed by Dan Reeves, Bill Parcells, Dick Vermeil and Mike Holmgren. Fox, who took Carolina to Super Bowl XXXVIII, is in pretty good company.

His defenses in Denver play a basic 4-3, with mostly zone pass coverages and an average amount of blitzing. Carroll’s defense, meanwhile, is in its opponent’s face from the pregame warm-ups, as the Saints’ Jimmy Graham learned.

Seattle’s Legion of Boom plays with a chip on its shoulder and its emotion on its sleeve. They seem like 11 angry men.

Carroll himself doesn’t appear to be angry, but he clearly can get under people’s skin.

Against Buffalo, the Seahawks ran a fake punt in the fourth quarter with a 30-point lead. While at USC, while killing the clock in the final seconds, Carroll had his quarterback fake taking a knee and throw another touchdown pass against UCLA.

But he’s a “cool” coach. Just listen to him.

Rare is the team whose personality doesn’t mirror its head coach.

The contrasts resonate loudly this Super Bowl week. And it’s not just the practice music.

About Gil LeBreton

Gil LeBreton has been entertaining and informing Star-Telegram readers for more than 34 years. He worked for newspapers in his hometown of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Kansas City and Baltimore before finding his true home in Texas. Over the years he's covered 25 Super Bowls, 16 Olympic Games (9 summer, 7 winter), soccer's World Cup, the Masters, the Tour de France, saw Muhammad Ali box, Paul Newman drive a race car and Prince Albert try to steer a bobsled.

A Vietnam veteran, Gil and his wife Gail have two children -- J.P., a computer game designer in San Francisco, and Elise, an actress living in New York. Gil also once briefly held the WBC Junior Welterweight title belt -- he had to, because the guy he was interviewing, champ Bruce Curry, had to suddenly step into the men's room.

Join the Discussion

Fort Worth Star-Telegram is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.